Jets at Blackhawks preview

JETS (47-19-10) at BLACKHAWKS (31-36-9)
8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, TSN3, NHL.TV

The Jets, who have clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, are in second place in the Central Division, five points behind the first-place Nashville Predators and 10 ahead of the third-place Minnesota Wild.
Defenseman Brent Seabrook will be playing in his 1,000th NHL game for the Blackhawks, who are 1-5-1 in their past seven games and 2-7-1 in their past 10. Chicago has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Forward
Dylan Sikura
, who signed with Chicago on Sunday, will make his NHL debut. He was on the second line with Victor Ejdsell and Alex DeBrincat at the morning skate.

Players to watch

Jets forward Kyle Connor has seven goals in his past seven games. He's tied with Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks for the lead among NHL rookies with 29 goals.
DeBrincat has four goals in his past five games after not scoring in his previous 13 games.

They said it

"They've got some really good players on this team, they've won the Cup, they had a dynasty going for a long time. They were an excellent team and I think we're trying to build up to the same thing they kind of had. It's pretty exciting to be able to be on the ice with those guys." -- Jets goalie Eric Comrie
"Yeah, pretty excited. Just trying to soak it all in here. I think the first couple of minutes and getting to the rink for the first time will be pretty exciting, probably pretty nerve-wracking, but I can't wait to get going." -- Blackhawks forward Dylan Sikura on making his NHL debut

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Paul Stastny -- Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault -- Andrew Copp -- Bryan Little
Brandon Tanev -- Adam Lowry -- Joel Armia
Josh Morrissey -- Tyler Myers
Ben Chiarot -- Dustin Byfuglien
Tucker Poolman -- Joe Morrow
Eric Comrie
Connor Hellebuyck
Scratched:Marko Dano, Shawn Matthias, Jack Roslovic
Injured:Toby Enstrom (lower body), Matt Hendricks (lower body), Dmitry Kulikov (lower body), Steve Mason (lower body), Jacob Trouba (upper body)

Blackhawks projected lineup

Brandon Saad -- Nick Schmaltz -- Patrick Kane
Dylan Sikura -- Victor Ejdsell -- Alex DeBrincat
Tomas Jurco -- Artem Anisimov -- Andreas Martinsen
Patrick Sharp -- David Kampf -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Duncan Keith -- Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson -- Connor Murphy
Jordan Oesterle -- Jan Rutta
Anton Forsberg
Collin Delia
Scratched:Blake Hillman
Injured:Corey Crawford (upper body), Anthony Duclair (lower body), John Hayden (upper body), Jonathan Toews (upper body)

Status report

Trouba was cleared to play, but coach Paul Maurice said he won't. ... Hillman's NHL debut is expected to come Friday at the Colorado Avalanche.

Stat pack

Laine has not had a point in his past four games after having 26 points (18 goals, eight assists) in a 15-game point streak. Little is one goal from 200 in his NHL career. … Seabrook is the fifth player to play 1,000 games, all with the Blackhawks.